The contrarian word on the weekend action....

The contrarian word on the weekend action….

Tim Easterby is on record as saying he sees GOLDEN APOLLO as a future Ayr Gold Cup horse....

And there’s a suspicion that the 4yo is better over 6f than the 7f trip they race over in the JCB Handicap at York tomorrow afternoon (2.25).

But, whilst he is yet to win over 7f, he’s more lightly raced at that trip than he is over the 6f, and last time over the 7f trip at York, the horse shaped like 7f is within his compass....

He was only 4th that day – beaten 3.25 lengths – but he had started from the widest stall of all and he did all his early and mid-race work at the very back of the field....

He had to come through horses, and my impression was that he didn’t get the clearest passage through....

What caught my eye was the spurt he put on in the final furlong. He wasn’t stopping for the additional furlong. And my impression was that he might have finished much closer had things been more straightforward earlier in the race....

For me, he looks like a horse running into the kind of form necessary to strike. His last win at the track came this time last year off 86. He’s rated 96 now but in between times he’s won a decent Ascot handicap off 95 and his current mark is workable.

He likes the track, he will handle the ground fine and his yard has been in amongst the winners over the last fortnight or so....

All in all, the general 10s is a reasonable price.

A nice each-way play....

BAMBINO LOLA ran an interesting race last time at Goodwood over 7f....

She was wearing a first-time hood, but that headgear didn’t stop her running keen and pulling herself to the front-end of the race....

They went quite a pace and I reckon the filly used up quite a bit of energy in the early- and mid-parts of the race....

The one she was racing with at the head of affairs ended up falling away and finishing 15th of the 16 runners, but Bambino Lola kept on and finished in 5th place....

That was a good effort under the circumstances and her team have made adjustments that could see her to even better effect tomorrow in the Pavers Foundation Catherine Memorial Sprint Handicap at York (3.35).

She drops back to the 6f on the straight and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that those circumstances will better suit her obvious natural speed better than the turning 7f trip at Goodwood....

The hood has been retained and a 2lb lower mark than she ran off at Goodwood can’t do any harm. The general 25s is a big price and makes her a decent each-way play for my contrarian money in this 20-runner event....

The Contrarian Bet Box….

To recap on where my contrarian money will be going tomorrow afternoon….